The Pageant: The Belle of African Nations, 2014- Madam Efunronye Tunubu edition. The Belle of African Nations (BOAN) is a one-of-its-kind Beauty Pageant initiated by Platinum Entertainment Nigeria Ltd to celebrate the uniqueness, beauty, bravery and intelligence of the African woman.

The pageant aims at unraveling the hidden socio-cultural and political relevance of the African woman buried with the African past; and the unleashing of the inner potentials in the young African ladies for the world to see. It seeks to also celebrate the life and times of past African heroines; and by so doing setting a standard for the emergence of the future queens of Africa.

As the name suggests, this pageant of international standard is to be organized amongst African states. The pageant is open to single ladies of ages 18 to 27 across the continent of Africa. Regardless of the African country of origin of the queen, our Belle will be an epitome of beauty and brain, groomed and equipped to work industriously on tackling a lot of challenges that involve the use of her intelligence.

All editions will involve ladies from participating African countries - delegates are to be selected based on merit after thorough preliminaries in each country. The grand finale is to be hosted rotationally among participating countries yearly. It is important to mention that countries interested in hosting the grand finale get to bid for the hosting rights. Delegates from participating nations will be camped in the host nation for two weeks before the event proper.

Here, they undergo series of activities varying from talent showcase to fashion parade, costume showcase, sporting exhibitions, tourism, exploration and lots more. The essence of these activities is to bolster their experience, knowledge and exposure. Over the period of camping, appointed judges will be on hand to examine the contestants and award them marks based on their performance in each activity.

As expected of an international event of this nature, global coverage of the various activities would be broadcast to live audience. Viewers and fans alike will be allowed to vote their favorite contestants via sms in every healthy pre-competition. This vibrant contribution by fans is believed to build a harmonized rapport between them and their favorite contestants.

Every edition of the Beauty Pageant would be modeled after one female African legend. The symbol closely associated with the legend would be the symbol on the coveted Crown. The Maiden Edition would celebrate the Life and Times of Madam EfunroyeTinubu of Lagos, the first Iyalode of Egbaland, West Africa and an active opponent to slave-trading in Africa.

The Crown and the Queen(s)

The coveted crown to be worn by the winner of the pageant would be made of solid Gold, Diamond and emerald engraved inside bearing the symbol closely associated with the female legend each edition is themed after. The crown for this year would be designed and made by world renowned luxury designer whose identity will be revealed during the Unveiling of the crown.

The winner of the Belle of African nations immediately resumes her office and commences her project in Nigeria. First, she goes on African tours creating awareness on certain women issues, carrying out charity works, tackling feminine challenges and publicizing the image of the pageant with its mission. Afterwards, she goes on continental tours to present the African initiatives in completion of her programs throughout her reign. Winners from the different participating countries also enjoy the above privileges from her country and other affiliated bodies associated with BOAN/platinum Entertainment Limited.

After our Belle’s one year reign, the original crown would be auctioned and part of the proceeds will be used to sponsor the various projects of emerging Belles from all participating countries across Africa. Before then, however, two replicas of the original crown would have been made - one for the outgoing belle and the other for the gallery. The auctioning of the original crown would be a grand event organized yearly and streamed online for world-wide viewing and bidding

Belle of African Nations is not the-winner-takes-all pageant. All queens that emerge from participating countries will have the life-time opportunity of having their projects sponsored by Platinum Entertainment in collaboration with the country she represents. Suffice to say that every Belle must have a unique charitable project to run during her reign. That, ofcourse, is to say that every Belle gets to represent her country as the Belle of African Nations' Queen from her nation, as franchise shall be granted interestedcountries in a bid to carry out preliminary activities that project the visions and missions of BOAN.

How many contestants get to compete?

Thirty contestants and above from all over Africa are expected to compete in the maiden edition and subsequent ones. Subsequent increase in the number of participating nations is inevitable as the publicity and acceptance increase.

COUNTRIES WITH CONFIRMED PARTICIPATION IN THIS YEAR EVENT ARE:

ALGERIA

THE GAMBIA

MAURITIANA

KENYA

TOGO

CONGO BRAZIVILLE

ETHOPIA

ERITREA

SAO-TOME

MALI

MORROCCO

NIGER

SEYCHELLES

Audition comes up between November 25th& 26thin Lagos

MEGA THEME FOR THIS YEAR EVENT: HEROINE IN THE MIDST OF HEROES

The theme for the maiden edition of BOAN is "Heroine in the Midst of Heroes". This theme was carefully and deliberately chosen in order to celebrate the "Life and Times" of a legend who was an active opponent to slave-trading in Africa. This is because it is a rare feat for a female to go loggerhead with her male counterparts in a world hugely dominated by men. Undoubtedly, her story would serve as source of inspiration and encouragement to ladies who have been tamed or restricted by the cultural and religious values of their milieu.

As in the maiden edition, every other edition of the Beauty Pageant would be modeled after one female African legend. The symbol closely associated with the legend would be the symbol on the coveted Crown.

In addition, females who have performed outstandingly in their various fields and who could serve as models for the younger generation of African women in contemporary times (dead or alive) would be recognized and awarded for their courage and doggedness; standing their grounds in the vastly patriarchal societies of Africa.